Does your state love you... or love you not?

Knowing your state’s abortion laws is the first step toward protecting yourself and advocating for change. Get the facts today.

🌼 CHECK YOUR STATE 🌼

News

Trump administration releases the long overdue 2026 Unified Agenda, previewing regulatory threats to reproductive health and rights 

  • Executive Actions
4 min. read

The Trump administration released the long overdue 2026 Unified Agenda on July 3. The agenda proposes numerous regulations that raise concern for new and renewed attacks on reproductive health and rights. 

Background 

The Unified Agenda is a semi-annual, government-wide publication mandated by Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The Unified Agenda outlines the administration’s regulatory priorities by previewing upcoming federal rulemaking actions and describing relevant developments. 

All federal agencies are statutorily required to publish their regulatory agendas in the Federal Register in the fall and spring; the second Trump administration has not met this requirement. The Spring 2025 iteration, released in September 2025 rather than the expected April, was months late, and the administration failed to release a Fall 2025 version. Notably, this is only the second time that an administration has skipped publishing a Unified Agenda.

Additionally, the iteration published on July 3, “2026 Unified Agenda,” does not include a season in its title, implying this is likely the only Unified Agenda the administration intends to publish this calendar year. As such, it is critical to analyze the information contained within. Below is a list of regulations that explicitly threaten reproductive rights.

Ongoing Threats

The following regulations appeared in previous iterations of the Unified Agenda and indicate continued plans to undermine reproductive rights:

  • A proposed rule from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at HHS on “conscience and religious exercise” in health care.
    • In the first Trump administration, OCR released a similar rule that, among other things, encouraged denials of reproductive health care. 
    • Although the full text of the proposed rule has not yet been published, this new proposal is likely to similarly reduce access by expanding health care refusals. 
    • Notably, since the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda was released, the Trump administration restructured OCR to re-create a Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, further entrenching refusals of care. 
  • A proposed rule from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) at HHS on “Compliance with Title X Statutory Program Integrity Requirements.”
    • Title X is the only federal program solely dedicated to family planning and related health services for low-income communities. 
    • In the first Trump administration, OASH released a similar rule that pushed out nearly half of all providers from the program, including the Center’s client Maine Family Planning.
    • Although the full text of the proposed rule has not yet been published, we expect it to mirror a harmful Title X funding announcement released earlier this year that prioritizes ideology over care quality.  

New Threats 

The following regulations appear in the Unified Agenda for the first time and highlight new planned attacks on reproductive rights:  

  • A proposed rule from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at HHS related to child support for “unborn children.”
    • Although the full text of the proposed rule has not yet been published, the use of the term “unborn children” attempts to legitimize fetal personhood, the concept that embryos should have full legal rights.  
  • A proposed rule from ACF at HHS related to unaccompanied children and the Hyde Amendment.
    • Although the full text of the proposed rule has not yet been published, this is likely to restrict travel support for minors seeking abortion care, in line with a DOJ opinion released last year.
  • A proposed rule from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) related to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).
    • Although the full text of the proposed rule has not yet been published, it will revise language involving EEOC’s interpretation of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” 
    • Excluding abortion from PWFA protections is a long time goal of the current EEOC Commissioner. 
  • A proposed rule from OCR at HHS related to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, a critical provision that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in covered health programs.
    • Although the full text of the proposed rule has not yet been published, it is likely to amend regulatory language on sex discrimination, which could have implications for abortion and gender-affirming care.   

Note that this is not a full accounting of the Unified Agenda, and it is possible that regulations on the Agenda not discussed here, or even absent from the Agenda, will be promulgated in ways that implicate reproductive rights. Keep an eye on Executive Action and Oversight posts for the most recent regulatory updates.

Agency Statements

Beyond the Unified Agenda’s proposed regulations, the agency preambles and statements of regulatory priorities also indicate increasing hostility to reproductive health care access. HHS reiterates its commitment to strengthening health care refusals – which put patients in danger – under the guise of “protecting the religious liberty of our medical workforce.” The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) highlights its near total abortion ban as a “regulatory accomplishment.” These statements are disconnected from the lifesaving nature of reproductive health care, and disregard the tangible harms that result when it is restricted.

Conclusion 

The delayed and consolidated 2026 Unified Agenda is another example of the administration’s systematic lack of transparency and accountability. As agencies release new rules, the Center for Reproductive Rights is watching and fighting back to protect your reproductive rights. Learn more here.